Today we went to the Chickahominy PowWow where I got some awesome pictures! The boys enjoyed it and my husband tolerated it--although he was missing football!

The music pulsated an ancient beat while the dancers moved in familiar sways and spins. I wanted to wait until everyone was invited into the circle to dance but alas, my husband wanted to come home to watch football. Mind you, he did not actually verbalize not wanting to be there but rather asked me "if this was all there was" after the grand entrance. You would think that someone who had traveled so much would appreciate closer culture but I am still working on him!

Senator Kaine spoke at the event for legal recognition of the Chikahominy tribe. I tried to find out more about my gggg grandmother but their records only go back to the early 1900s. Whats a girl to do? I guess I will write them an old fashioned letter and show them the gravestone and see if there are any clues.

So my happily married couple from Craigslist is actually a business owner and secretary.... Oops! Whoddathunkit?Yesterday was my first day shopping for them and it was so fun.... with the exception that I went shopping and have nothing to show for it at my own house!! Job casualty, I suppose.

It was very fun though! I had photographs and quantities of the items they liked and shopping I went! I hunted for the best mushrooms, had the butcher slice their meat at Kroger in Carytown, pre-ordered their specialty wraps from another store, ran into yet another store to find a certain flavor of Greek yogurt and finally landed in Yellow Umbrella fish store where I had the best customer service! Reading off of my list, I ordered enough Halibut for 3 people, he skinned it and then packed it with an ice pack.

Once I got back to the office, I unpacked the office manager's dry goods, unpacked the cold goods in the fridge, was paid and was sent on my way to the business owner's home to unpack his groceries. His home was impeccably decorated. Not so much my style (especially not w/ two kids!) but nonetheless, incredibly well done. All of his labels have to face forward and his basement is like a mini-store and rec room. Any drink or snack, you could imagine, he has! It's super cool!

I'll see them again next week. He cusses like a sailor and his 94 year old father asked me if I was pregnant (I'm sure I'll be writing another post about accepting your body next week, after that experience!) but I think I'll give them another shot next week and see what happens.

Tonight was the Art Works Gallery Show in Richmond, VA. It was very interesting to hear the guest juror Margorie Perrin speak about my work. She is a painter who specializes in realism and people- something I'm not very good at doing! She said the reason this stood out to her is because abstract art is often very 2-dimensional but this painting stood out as very 3-dimensional. The pyramid like shapes jump off of the canvas and add to the 3-dimensional effect. The strings give a very classic feel by creating depth through perspective, drawing the viewer's eye back to the center. She said the many layers of colors and the transparency of the paint added to the vibrancy of the color and how they interacted together. It was very fun to hear the "art speak" around the objects I make on my front porch! Keith, I, Chris and the two boys attended the awards ceremony and we were home by 8:30! It's hard to be a party animal when you're parents!

"I was looking back on my life and all the things I've done to me", Ozzy Osbourne

So I'm a bigtime not-so-in-the-closet Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne fan. I'm 33 years old, the perfect age. Young enough to be strong but old enough to have a little life under my belt. Well at least that's what some people might say; I have a couple of lifetimes under my belt and it's taken me this amount of time to be completely grateful for all of them!

It was in one of these "past lives" that I was exposed to Ozzy's music and fell in love! Black Sabbath originated from Manchester, England where they imitated the sounds from the industrial working areas surrounding them in their everyday environment. They translated the machines' sounds into guitars that sounded like sirens, drums a haunting rhythm with Ozzy's pure and gritty voice carrying above all of the noise--brilliant I think!

Anyway, long story short, an Ozzy song "Road to Nowhere" was the inspiration behind this painting. After a long day with my kids (moms holla if 'ya hear me!) my nerves were shot! I asked my husband for some time to go paint and this is what I came up with. A blob of color caught in these strings, against an equally bright and strong background. The lines interconnect in seemingly planned points but perhaps they're haphazard? Can you tell? I then looked at my artwork and saw a road leading to a pinpoint and it made me think of Ozzy's song "Road to Nowhere, Leads to Me".

The point of all this?! I won second place at the Art Works Gallery, Richmond, VA show- yay! which means cash prize and maybe it'll sell! Wish me luck!

To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings.Bodhidharma

Tomorrow is my youngest son's birthday party! I am so excited to have friends and family come over to celebrate! I have been cleaning and wrapping up the loose ends of the week all day! I always try to be open to learning lessons. Some of the best lessons I have learned have been through manual work. I tutored all week (Honors Algebra II is crazy hard, and I don't know when you use it again! :( ) and cleaned a former client's home today. After that, I had to get my paintings off to Art Works for 4th Fridays (see new painting below), come back home and clean my own house and reply to a reply I'd received off of Craigslist.

A month ago, I put an ad on Craigslist to be a mother's helper. My mother-in-law, Nancy, gave me a book by SARK which suggested that you put an ad on Craigslist for whatever job you thought would be perfect for you. Since I already tutor and have the painting thing going, I thought the best use of my time that allows me to stay close to home, would be to be a mother's helper. This was my original ad:

"I'm looking to be a "mother's helper" in the Southside, Carytown, Northside, VA area. I have about 5-15 hours a week to dedicate to such services.I am well educated, a mother and find myself in a position to make my own hours and offer my own services. I can help with household chores, cleaning, children (just to give you some sanity), and household management. I have computer skills and experience with plants. I can be your personal shopper or help you out at home while you shop. Basically, I'm offering what I wish I could afford- a little mother's help!If this sounds like something you can afford and need--shoot me an email. I have the ability for flexible and minimal hours and offer a reasonable hourly rate."

Well today, I got a response back from a lovely couple who used to own a local string of sports stores here in Richmond. They need help grocery shopping and we exchanged information. I encouraged them to look on this website to familiarize themselves with my work and style before meeting and when they came across my interior design, he mentioned he may be buying his wife a new home and she'll get to redo everything and there may be some potential for me to help there! How fun would that be to have a flexible schedule, teach, paint, raise my kids, tend to my husband.... AND decorate!

I also traded a painting today for a hand knotted Turkish rug at Epoch! I put it in my music room (the foyer!) and it fits perfectly! The colors are great but I do need to balance the deeper colors in the living room by adding them to the foyer. My husband, however, does not share my vision..... YET! He told me the other day (after I finished covering our dining room benches with THE perfect fabric that I found for a steal!) that I have the gift of color- even he was surprised at how well I can memorize and retrieve color images from my mind! I am so happy with how our home renovation/redecoration is coming along!

After all of these blessed events today, including being able to clean for a former client, I started thinking about the beauty of hard work. My body and mind are tired but I've always believed in karma--that what you put out, you will receive back, threefold.

Tonight's quote was special to me because it examined life past karma. "To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings."Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from the 5th/6th century. Throughout art, he is depicted as a surly bearded man, described as a barbarian. I love what he says about ending karma and accepting what life brings. The adage, "when life brings you lemons make lemonade" is perhaps trite but goes along in my life with what Bodhidharma has said. There is something magical about forgetting yourself and doing manual labor. Life may have given me a ton of education but I am humble and grateful to run errands and clean. I would have never expected as much for myself 15 years ago but by doing so, I get the blessing of a flexible schedule for my kids and I do not know of anything more spiritual than having the freedom to be there for your kids for every play, holiday and occasion that may occur.

I've been working so hard these past three months and it seems like the benefits are coming and I am so excited and grateful to accept what's coming.

Tomorrow is little Z's birthday party.... I think I'll start there! Here's a new piece of art that I entered tonight at Art Works Gallery.